Part 2 Basic Data
Basic data is the foundation of Odoo. Sales orders, purchase orders, inventory, accounting, POS, and manufacturing all reuse the same core records again and again.
This part does more than point out where buttons are. More importantly, it helps readers understand which data should be prepared first, which fields will affect later business flows, and which settings should not be changed casually once the system is formally in use.
Learning Goals
After reading this part, readers should be able to:
- Understand the basic application structure of Odoo;
- Know the difference between a test database, production database, and backup;
- Configure company information, users, languages, and common permissions;
- Correctly distinguish customers, vendors, contacts, invoice addresses, and delivery addresses;
- Create product records that can be used in sales, purchase, and inventory;
- Use import and export functions to maintain basic data in batches;
- Understand the basic roles of email, messages, activities, and reports.
Recommended Configuration Sequence
For a first implementation, prepare basic data in this order:
- Company information;
- Users and permissions;
- Customers, vendors, and contacts;
- Product categories and product records;
- Warehouses, inventory, and units of measure;
- Taxes, bank accounts, and payment terms;
- Data import, spot checks, and corrections;
- Email, messages, and report layout.
Do not rush to enter a large number of formal business documents before basic data has been confirmed. If basic data is wrong, later orders, inventory, and accounting will also be wrong.
Relationship With Later Modules
| Basic Data | Later Impact |
|---|---|
| Company information | Quotation, invoice, email template, report header |
| Users and permissions | Which menus employees can see, and whether they can create, edit, or approve |
| Contacts | Customers, vendors, delivery addresses, invoice addresses, portal accounts |
| Products | Quotations, purchase, inventory, manufacturing, POS, cost and margin |
| Units and categories | Prices, inventory quantities, accounting accounts, statistical reports |
| Email settings | Quotation sending, customer replies, system notifications |
| Report settings | Printed layouts, customer documents, internal management reports |
If a company is new to Odoo, it should first complete this part, then move into Sales, Purchase, Inventory, Accounting, and other business modules.